Out With The Old, In With The New

 Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 

This will probably be short as while my back is feeling much better, it still is not quite back to normal. If I sit too long, well it begins to pain me. I can, however, get out of bed without screaming silently in pain. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better.

So what thriftiness have I been up to over the last week or so. 

I have been using up all the leftovers that are in the fridge and even sent some home with both Kurt and Kris. 

I haven't been shopping in 8 days, so I am very happy about that. Haven't even driven the vehicle in that long either. I will have to shop for milk, eggs, butter and a few items to fill in some empty spaces in the pantry due to the extra mouths to feed.

I fixed a seam on one of my long knit skirts.

Used the fabric bags for Christmas gifts again this year.

Folded up the paper gift bags the boys used and put them in the wrapping paper box.

Off to get some heat on my back as it is beginning to pain me once again.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

It has been a few days since I last posted, and now that I have a bit of quiet time this morning I thought it was time to update everyone.

Christmas was different, not bad, just different. We did not have the extended family get together, but our sons since they live alone got to pick one household to spend time with and they picked us. So we were luckier than most that we got to see them.

Of course I managed to cook way more than was needed so both of them will be taking care packages home and we will be eating leftovers here for a very long time..... Not a bad thing as I seem to have hurt my back this morning and am having trouble moving with any type of ease. 

Now on to the weeks menu plans.

Monday

Leftover turkey noodle soup. I think I will use up the French bread as well by making some open faced sandwiches to go with this.

Tuesday

This is my birthday, and we will be ordering in. I am hoping Chinese food. More leftovers!!

Wednesday

Leftover meatballs in mushroom sauce, served with the leftover mashed potatoes and probably mixed veggies.

Thursday

Leftover Chinese food if that is what we order in. If not or it is eaten for lunches.... I will make Chili and serve it with toast.

Friday

Fish Fillets, homemade fries, and coleslaw.

Saturday

Leftover turkey made into a casserole.

Sunday

Baked ham, rice, salad, and green beans.

Hopefully this will see most of the leftovers in the fridge used up, if not the freezer.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless. 

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas.

Everybody have a wonderful day. 

God bless.

Mid Week And All Is Quiet....Well Maybe

 Just a tiny bit of a rant here. 

We have those in the family that are very anti-mask, anti social distancing, pretty much anti everything that both the federal and provincial governments do to try and combat this virus.

Now, yes, people are entitled to their own opinions but I do draw the line when these same people start calling me low IQ, brainwashed, communist (do they even know what communism is I sometimes wonder), call me a rat, say MSN is untruthful (until MSN says something they agree with....wonder if they understand the word hypocrisy) or post picture of people glued to their smart phones (this from one person who does in fact seem to be glued to their smart phone) and of course pushing medical knowledge from people who are not doctors or nurses or any kind of front line worker. 

I really want to slap them upside the head and tell them to grow up. Yet I keep my cool, post upbeat things on Facebook and try to ignore the ignorance of some people. After all family is more important than some of the families ignorance. The person who posts the most upsetting and illogical items actually believes we are going to be invaded by aliens from outer space sometime in the next year. Sighs...... to think she is family.

By the way I do not have a low IQ. I graduated from university with a degree in Science. A double major to be exact in Biochemistry and Microbiology with minors in English Lit and Chemistry. 

We did get some snow last night, and it has been snowing for most of today. I think we will have a white Christmas after all. Temperature wise it is supposed to be fairly chilly.

Kris will be home tomorrow. He is going to leave at first light, I was glad he made that decision because driving at night on our winter roads is not always a great idea.

Still working on the hand quilting. This is not going to be finished any time soon. Still I am liking how it is turning out. The next finished quilt sandwich is going to be machine quilted though.

Off to get supper on the table. I will visit you all a bit later.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 

I have managed a few thrifty activities this week.

We made a trip around the city to see the lights. Some houses are just covered in them, others have lots of inflatables up. Makes a person smile.

I seem to be having to fix a great many hems over the past few weeks. Still if it means extending the wear of a few pairs of pants I will continue to do so.

Darned a few pair of socks and a pair of gloves.

Using up as many leftovers as possible. Still managing to have a clean out the fridge night even though Kurt is at home.

While library visits are out of my comfort range right now, I am still finding free books to download onto my ereader, and I received a Indigo/Kobo gift card of $10.00 from one of my survey sites. Hopefully more will be coming my way as I gain more and more points for doing surveys. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

The week before Christmas, heck it isn't even a week, just a few days. 

We could be getting our first winter storm at some point this week (could be tomorrow afternoon) and this is causing me some concern over whether or not Kris will make it home. Keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't as bad as the weather pundits are predicting.

Monday

Honey garlic marinated chicken breasts, rice, corn and the leftover cabbage slaw.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef, made into a casserole type meal. I will make a tossed salad.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge as there is sure to be food from last night left over.

Thursday

Lasagna, garlic bread and a salad.

Friday

Christmas Dinner and all that it entails from the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, gravy, cranberries to the pies for dessert.

Saturday

Mushroom meatballs, either the leftover mashed potatoes or rice, and probably the leftover salad.

Sunday

Turkey tetrazzini, and a salad of some type (could be a slaw).

There are the menus for the week. Hopefully I will make enough to feed everyone.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Last Sunday of Advent

 We are now into the week before Christmas. I have finished all my baking (at least I hope), making the last few gifts, and the last minute shopping will take place later in the week.

Kurt is home, fed and bonding with Harvey. Me, well I am knitting and getting ready to do a bit of a tidy of my housekeeping binder. 

I am going to share with you all Archbishop Don's Fourth Sunday of Advent talk.

https://www.facebook.com/ArchdioceseofRegina/videos/383333329421393

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

Not the most frugal of weeks for two reasons.

The first being when we took our vehicle in to switch over the All Season to Winter tires there arose a bit of a problem. Seems our old rims would not fit on the new vehicle. This made us buy new rims.... And then the sensors were in the wrong place and those had to be changed as well. We also have to take it back in to get some kind of protective thing on the rims we bought. So after close to a $800.00 job we will have another smaller bill to pay when the parts come in.

Next I decided to do a big shop at Walmart so that I can stay out of there for at least a month (things are going to be crazy no matter where we go, but one crazy I can take...two crazies not so much). The bill was higher than I thought it would be, but we are now set.

Now on to what was actually frugal this week.

1.  Went shopping at our Co-op for groceries and the bill was pretty reasonable and I managed to save $27.95 on the total bill just buying sale items.

2.  Either walked outside or on the treadmill for my exercise this week.

3.  Using up all the bits from the fridge.

4.  Shopping my shelves and using substitutions for ingredients where I can.

5.  Baked bread twice this week.

Probably many more but my mind is not functioning quite right. Thoughts of what still needs to be done before Christmas are running through my head constantly.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

 

Just a few pictures of what I have been up to over the past few weeks.

My little poncho. Still have yarn left so I am working on a shawl.

A bright pink knit skirt.

Some palazzo pants.

Baking (which isn't quite finished as of yet, probably tomorrow).

Some coasters made with the scrap fabric after making the Christmas masks.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 Another week closer to Christmas, and it is getting harder to remember to be a thrifty and economical woman. It seems that the closer I get to a holiday the more I panic about getting things done and to heck with the cost. This year I am trying much harder to be the thrifty person that I am the rest of the year.

I am still working on using up all that I can. The freezer is low on bits and bobs, I was really quite organized over the last few weeks and managed many meals out of those frozen bags of meat and bits of leftovers. You could almost say I got many an almost free meal from what was in there.

I also have been good at not purchasing more craft items. Still have lots of those types of items to use up.

Mending has taken up some of my time. I have fixed hems, sewn on loose buttons and darned socks/gloves.

I even managed to sew a few items of clothing to replenish some short falls in my wardrobe. After I finish my Christmas apron (hopefully tomorrow) I will be able to get back to hand quilting my scrap quilt. The other quilt top will be machine quilted and hopefully both will be finished before Christmas. They will be lovely to wrap up in Christmas morning.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday and New Restrictions

The last two days here on the Canadian prairies have been cold to say the least. However after today it is supposed to warm up a bit.

Today we got new restrictions to start on the 17th and then another set to start on the 25th.

The first set states that starting Thursday there will be no gatherings in your home. The only exceptions are for caregivers, and for those who live alone. Since both our sons do live alone they should still be allowed to come home for Christmas. It will still keep us under the number that was allowed up until now to gather. We can have a gathering outside of up to 10 people. Guess now I do not have to worry about attending the usual family Christmas get together this year.

The second set of restrictions will be allowing only a certain number of people in a shopping establishment at a time and the closing down of various other establishments that are deemed nonessential. People here are kind of giving the government a bit of a push back and saying that of course they are keeping the stores open so that people spend their money for Christmas. I think I may grab a few extra little games and such to help keep us occupied over the holiday season. Especially if we are going to be keeping to ourselves for an extended period of time and I really don't want to stand in line to get into a store.

On to this weeks menus.

Monday

Leftover chicken thighs, sliced fried leftover potatoes with some onions, and frozen green beans.

Tuesday

Leftover roast pork (using up a bag from the freezer). Probably made into a casserole.

Wednesday

Honey garlic marinated chicken, the leftover rutabaga, and asparagus.

Thursday

I am going to clean out the fridge as I am sure there will be some leftovers from Tuesday and Wednesday.

Friday

Salmon patties, rice, and mixed veggies.

Saturday

Kurt should be home by now and so I will be redoing the menu for tonight (and probably a few other days). So tonight will be hamburgers and homemade fries, along with coleslaw.

Sunday

Beef roast, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and the remains of the coleslaw.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Sunday Ramblings

 

It is the third Sunday in Advent. The time is passing very quickly, soon it will be Christmas. Christmas will be different, but still joyous even if we need to Zoom, Face Time, or Skype our loved ones. 

Here is my bishops latest Advent message.

https://www.facebook.com/ArchdioceseofRegina/videos/135574281503669

Enjoy.

Everyone have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

I have been a bit preoccupied over the last couple of days. Not sure why, probably I just felt I needed to get a few things completed. 

Also I have been spending time sending texts back and forth to our sons. We are trying/hoping that things do not come to a head as far as more restrictions before Christmas. 

I have also had a couple of Zoom meetings on Ecumenism that it was necessary to attend. I do believe that my calendar is going to be clear now until at least Tuesday when I hope to do an hours phoning for the parish. I may try and fit another hour or so in at some other point over the week.

Now on to frugal happenings around here.

1.  I still have not purchased fuel for the vehicle for just over a month. There is just under half of a tank left in the vehicle as well. Wonder if I can stretch this out until the end of this month.

2.  Combining errands to save said fuel. Only doing things such as shopping one day a week, and paying bills online.

3.  Saved $21.26 on the grocery bill this week.

4.  Using up all that I can as far as items in the fridge and pantry.

5.  Made a cat bed as a gift for Kris's cat, still have a bit of work to do on it, but it will be finished very soon.

6.  We are getting some free previews on our television right now and I am taking full advantage of watching some movies. It is now I wish I could PVR them, but I can't so I will watch all that I can.

7.  Downloaded some more free novels on my ereader. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Keeping The Spirit Of Christmas Alive

 I interrupt my regular posts today.

We have a few senior residences in our city that are quite often forgotten over the holidays. There are always gifts for those in the nursing homes or long term care at the hospital and at the private nursing home and yet many are still forgotten. 

Now during this time of upheaval, and restricted visitations I decided that it was time to remember them all and am playing Secret Santa to the two places that are closest to me.

This morning when I went for my walk I made my first delivery. A bag full of homemade scarves for the one place. I never thought that it would be plastered all over Facebook, or really make that much of a difference.

I spent much of today while mending, and knitting (mostly because I couldn't concentrate on baking, guess multitasking went out the window) trying to figure out what to do for the second residence in my neighbourhood. 

After supper it came to me. This place likes to do puzzles!!! So on Thursday I will pick up some puzzles, a game (perhaps dominos) and drop them off with a card (sneaking in of course). 

I know that they will be unable to gather for awhile, but these will be something for them to all look forward to when gathering restrictions end.

I am really having fun doing this, and knowing I am making even the slightest difference during this time is the icing on the cake. Sharing hope and love, the first two candles on the Advent wreath is making this season so much more important to me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Menu Monday

 

Into the first full week of December already, Christmas is just around the corner. Hope everyone is being nice.

Monday

Leftover sausage casserole, and some sliced cucumbers and dip.

Tuesday

Soup and Sandwiches.

Wednesday

Chicken burgers, home made fries.

Thursday

BBQ Chicken Thighs done in the instant pot, rice, peas and carrots.

Friday

Fish fillets, the last of the hash browns, coleslaw.

Saturday

Leftover chicken thighs with the last of the rice, corn.

Sunday

Pork roast, roasted potatoes and roasted carrots (may throw in some rutabaga to roast as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

It is the Second Sunday of Advent. Once again I am going to share with all of you the Archbishop of our Diocese's talk.

Father Don as I knew him when he was the assistant priest here in Estevan is a wonderful and gentle man. He reaches deep into his heart to share with us all.

https://www.facebook.com/ArchdioceseofRegina/videos/206938210882781

Enjoy.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

Good Frugal Friday. I hope you are all well, and being as frugal as is possible in this confusing time.

1.  Used up most of the bags of frozen meat from the fridge freezer. Also used up some puff pastry, and a frozen pie shell.

2.  Used up the chicken broth from the fridge in making soup this week.

3.  Tried to combine errands to save on gas and wear/tear on the vehicle.

4.  Did a sort of secret Santa type thing on the street and gave some scarves away to those that needed cheering up. Though one lady guessed who had done it. Thought I was being so very sneaky.

5.  Saved $5.86 shopping this week. Not as good as I had hoped, but I will take what I can.

6.  Using up scraps from the mask fabric to make some fabric mug rugs. I will also be using up some binding on the last 8.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

 Today was absolutely beautiful. It was 7C here with no noticeable wind. A perfect day.

I was asked to share my chocolate coconut candy recipe so here it is.

2 cups chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

and about 1 1/2 cups coconut (shredded)

Melt the chocolate chips and butter over hot water add remaining ingredients to make a stiff mixture.

Allow to cool slightly and roll in balls, place balls on waxed paper or parchment paper to harden.

Sometimes I roll the hardened balls in a bit of icing sugar. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Wednesday and Finally Some Photos

 I have been a bit remiss in posting pictures of finished projects, and while I am doing that I may as well post some pictures of the tree.

This year the tree is downstairs, just don't know how Kris's cat Eiko would behave with it up here.

No angel on the top this year as the ceiling is a bit lower in the basement. We would need to cut a hole to fit it. As is usual, the tree is in mostly red and silver with a few special ornaments in other colours, lots of angels, Santas, and few special ones from students throughout the years.

Upstairs was not decorated as much as I usually do, the tree is a big part of the décor usually. I did my best and this is what I came up with.

This little tree is one of the few things I have left from my ceramics classes. It does need a good dusting and once baking is done it will get a good cleaning.

My Nativity sets and a couple of snowmen sit atop the fireplace/entertainment center.

The corner nearest my desk has the rest of the ornaments. As you can all see I really did not feel much like decorating. I do have a bit more to do (mostly candles and candy dishes) and I hope to complete that soon.

Now on to what I have completed as far as projects go.

The simple pouch I made for my cell phone. Big enough that I can find it in my purse with ease.

My hip hitting sweater. Still not sure about the neck and perhaps if I make this pattern once again I will change the neckline.

Citrus sugar scrubs (some for me and some to give as a small token gift).

Just a little case to keep my ereader from getting dusty sitting on my night table.

Matching masks for Christmas 2020. Wonder if I can actually get a picture of us all wearing them.

Baking began as well.

Almond bark and chocolate coconut candy.

Peanut butter cups made into bars, much less fuss this way and they taste just as good.

Shortbreads which are my absolute fav with a lovely cup of tea or hot chocolate.

So baking will continue over the next few weeks and I will be doing more projects. I hope to have most things completed in a couple of weeks. Then I can sit back and relax.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

P.S.

Please excuse the blurry photos. At times my one camera really acts up. The better camera needs to have its battery charged.

Thrifty Tuesday

 

Today I went back in time and started to think about my old Home Economics classes.

I don't know about your classes, or if you even took them (girls got Home Ec. and boys got Shop), but mine started in Grade 7. The course was divided in two Food/Cooking and Sewing.

In the food portion we learned how to make a menu, set a table properly (even had to draw place settings for the meal), make shopping list, and serve the meal. It was actually lots of fun. Well except for having to list everything out, find the recipes we were going to use (much easier in the lower grades as the teacher did all of that), draw out the place setting and make sure everything prepared was enough to feed the whole class. Then of course we were graded on the papers we handed in and our performance as head cook and bottle washer.

Sewing class gave me a taste of being able to make something I could actually wear. Our first project was an apron with embroidery. The teacher had all the pattern made for us. We just had to cut it out, do the embroidery, and then sew it up according to the directions she gave us. Our second project in Grade 8 was a wrap skirt with a button. Once again everything was supplied even the fabric (we all made our skirts out of some kind of woven green stuff). Learned how to make a buttonhole, how to hem properly (tiny little stitches) and put interfacing in (back then it was sew in, none of the fusible was available).

I hit Grade 9 and cooking continued in much the same manner, though the meals and treats we made became a bit more complex. It was pretty much the same for the rest of the time I took the class. Some things went over very well, others not so accepted. We learned how to make a menu for a week and poured over fliers to get the best possible deals. Budgeting was a big part of the course as we went along.

Sewing in high school got a bit more complicated. We had to buy our own fabric and got a list of patterns that we were to pick from. Each year a new challenge was added. We had a teacher who would measure the seams to make sure they were exactly 5/8 inches and that the darts on our patterns fit exactly (that is if the pattern had a dart at the bust) and those were measured to make sure they were exactly the same length. Still it was amazing to see how much we all learned and how our skills with a sewing machine grew.

I never realized until a few days ago that the skills I learned there prepared me for what I would face as an adult. 

The cooking classes gave me a background in cooking in a thrifty manner. I still pour over the fliers and make a menu. Only this time instead of for a week mine is made for a month. Sure things sometimes change, but it is usually just exchanging days. By pouring over the fliers I have managed to store enough food ahead that I can do the month and any sale items I buy can be used the next month (especially meat, poultry and fish). I still set a table the way I learned in school. Budgeting is a big part of my thrifty home.

I didn't sew for a very long time after I left high school, but when I became pregnant with my first child I borrowed my mother's sewing machine and made many a maternity top and even one dress. Then when our daughter was born, Harvey bought me a sewing machine as a Christmas gift (could no longer borrow Mom's as we had moved) and I started sewing her clothing. Loved sewing all those little dresses and tops. Our youngest son also got many a home sewn outfit of t-shirt and pants. 

While sewing clothing has taken most of my time I branched into quilts (made from scraps of fabric and fabric cut from old clothing like jeans and woolen skirts), and décor items. I am sure my old home ec. teacher would shudder to see that my seams are not always a true 5/8", but would be happy to see that my darts are always the same length.

Now I can't leave what thrifty things I learned from my Mom. She always used up every bit of food, letting nothing go to waste. Many of the meals I make I learned from her. 

She taught me to knit, and darn socks. How to turn a collar, and how to fix a zipper. 

These are all lessons that have kept me occupied and thrifty over the years. They helped me through financially hard times and during the good time helped us to save for retirement. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.